Galloway was initially educated in Scotland, before attending schools in France, Germany, and Netherlands where she learned to speak French and German fluently.
[4] Galloway was responsible for recruiting teachers lecturers and examiners, and helped to develop and plan teaching methods and standards.
[6] She took a keen interest in the pastoral life of the university's female students; she organised social events and gatherings, encouraged the formation of societies and unions, and followed their careers after they graduated.
In 1885, she was one of the founders of the Queen Margaret Guild, an organisation that arranged talks for the university extension movement.
[8] She initially believed that Queen Margaret College should educate women in their traditional roles, rather than equip them to enter men's professions.
After a grand funeral in the Bute Hall of the University of Glasgow, Galloway was buried in the Campsie Churchyard, Lennoxtown.